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Abstract

This paper develops a physical model of a MEMS capacitive accelerometer in order to use the accelerometer effectively in low-g motion tracking applications. The proposed physical model includes common physical parameters used to rate an accelerometer: scale factor, bias, and misalignment. Simple experiments used to reveal the behavior and characteristics of these parameters are described. A phenomenological modeling method is used to establish mathematical representations of these parameters in relation to errors such as nonlinearity, hysteresis, cross-axis effect, and temperature effect, without requiring a complete understanding of the underlying physics. Experimental results are presented, in which the physical model reduces RMSE by 93.1% in comparison with the manufacturer's recommended method.